Jack.org/Queen's Student Initiative Fund Recipients

Fall 2018-2019 Academic Year

The Canadian Undergraduate Conference on Healthcare (CUCOH) :$2,300.00 to fund the key note address of Mark Henick to speak at CUCOH about mental health and mental illness. Further details available via their Facebook page and Instagram.

Mental Health Awareness Committee: $850 to create care packages that will be handed out during the exam study period. The packages will serve to de-stress students while they study for their finals. Learn more about the Queen’s Mental Health Awareness committee on their Facebook page or Twitter.

Queen's University Medicine Wellness Committee: $5,000 to provide medical students with Applied Suicide Intervention Skills (ASIST) training. These students will then have the tools to appropriately deal with suicide crises and help any person experiencing suicidal thoughts.

The Peer Support Centre: $500 to host a paint night during the Peer Support Centre’s Care Week. Participants will be able to practice self-care through the healing powers of creativity. Find out more about the Peer Support Centre on their Facebook page and Instagram.

Queen's Varsity Leadership Council: $1,000 to purchase t-shirts to be given to students and athletes at team games as part of Mental Health Awareness Day. These shirts will coincide with booths from various mental health organizations from the Queen’s and Kingston community, set up in the Athletics and Recreation Centre (ARC) it will offer students the opportunity to learn about the services available to them. Learn more about the Varsity Council on their Facebook page.

Jack.org Queen's Chapter: $5000 to supply food to the 2019 Conference, “Raise Your Voice”. The Conference will bring together motivated delegates to examine and tear down the barriers of asking for help and to empower students to make a positive impact towards mental health. Check out the Queen’s chapter of Jack.org on their Facebook and their Instagram.

Step Above Stigma: $500 to fund a coffee house so that students and professional speakers can tell their stories in a comfortable environment. Learn more about Step Above Stigma on their Facebook page Facebook and Instagram.

Winter 2017-2018 Academic Year

ASUS Orientation: $450 to provide safeTALK training for the Arts and Sciences Orientation Committee. The goal of this training is to give leaders at Queen’s the necessary skills to protect student mental health and reduce stigma around suicide. Learn more about the committee on their Website and Facebook.

Jack.org Queen’s Chapter: $7,328 to purchase phone wallets to be distributed during orientation week. These phone wallets will be used as a marketing tool so that incoming students know of a group on campus that advocates for their wellbeing. Check out the Queen’s chapter on their Facebook.

Queen’s Health Outreach- Northern Canada Initiative:$1,500 to cover travel expenses of Peer Educators going to 4 communities, 7 schools and multiple community centers though northern Canada to teach about important health topics including: mental health and self-esteem, youth empowerment, sexual health, substance use and abuse and nutrition. The funds will also be used to purchase supplies that help Peer Educators make their lessons interactive and encouraging. Check out more about this group on their Facebook and Instagram .

Queen’s Health Outreach: $300 to provide Peer Educators with safeTALK training for their Northern Initiative. This training will allow volunteers to become suicide-alert helpers which can be vital to their Northern Canada Initiative. Check out more about this group on their Facebook and Instagram

Queen’s Native Student Association - Queen’s Student Wellbeing Circle: $750 to fund an Indigenous based wellbeing series of workshops and events aimed at maintaining/improving the mental health of participants. Find out more at their Facebook.

Clinical Psychology Outreach Program - Got your Back! Campaign: $1,264 used to promote and fund the campaign and the workshops conducted through the year on mental health. The campaign will be hosting 8 workshops on campus and in the community. Learn more on their website and Facebook.

Fall 2017-2018 Academic Year

The Peer Support Centre:Paint Nite- $500 to host an event at The Tea Room with refreshments whereby participants are able to practice self-care and love through the healing powers of creativity and sharing personal stories about mental health. Check out more about this group on their Facebook page and Twitter

Queen’s Health Outreach: Kingston and Northern Canada Initiative: Peer Educators-$2,000 to enable peer educators to enter classrooms and teach youth about important mental health topics through interactive activities and discussions. Check out more about this group on their Facebook page.

Queen’s Yoga Summit: $1,000 to provide a one day yoga summit to students at the Isabel Bader Centre. The day encompasses a student speaker series, a free yoga class, mental health workshops, and a tea party where club booths will set up activities and opportunities to win prizes. Check out the Queen’s Yoga Club at their Facebook page or Instagram .

Queen’s for the Boys: $500 to support a whiteboard event and social media presence focused on healthy drinking. The whiteboard event will open the conversation about the Queen’s drinking culture and get students thinking about their own drinking habits. Photos will be taken at the event and posted on social media from the QFTB page. Check them out on their Facebook and Instagram .

Queen’s Conference on Education: $500 to hold workshops related to the Mental Health of teachers and student and how this affects the classroom. The aim is to open up the conversation about how to help future students that may be struggling with mental health issues. Check them out on their Facebook page .

Queen’s Medicine Wellness Committee: Peer Counselling Program-$2,500 to train peer counselors for students within the School of Medicine to aid students in acute crisis as well as breaking down mental health stigma and providing support for colleagues

Varsity Leader Council:Mental Health Awareness Day: $1,000 to purchase t-shirts to be given to students and athletes at team games as part of Mental Health Awareness Day. These shirts will coincide with booths from various mental health organizations from the Queen’s and Kingston communities which will be set up at the Athletics and Recreation Centre (ARC) to offer students the opportunity to learn about the services available to them. Learn more about the council on their Facebook page or search their hashtag, #LeadTheWay.

Winter 2016-2017 Academic Year

Jack.org Queen's Chapter: Hold the Key to Mental Health - $8,006 to provide incoming first year students and orientation week leaders with Jack.org lanyards as part of their Frosh Week 'Welcome Package'. Along with this, representatives from Jack.org will run mental health awareness training sessions with orientation leaders to help teach first year students how to start conversations about mental health. Check out more on Queen's Universities Jack.org chapter on their Facebook page and Twitter page.

AMS Clubs: Run with Me Queen's- $1,000 to be used for equipment rental, venue rental, race apparel to be distributed to participants and volunteers and to hire a guest speaker as part of the 4th annual Run with Me Queen's 5km road race. Find out more about with event on their Facebook page!

Step Above Stigma- $500 to purchase an initial inventory of 'Mental Health' socks to sell to students. The socks are embroidered with the slogan 'Step Above Stigma' and all proceeds from the socks will be donated to improve accessibility and visibility of mental health. Check out more about this group on their Facebook page!

Exercise is Medicine Queen's Chapter:Prescription Exercise at Queen's (PE-Q) - $3,000 to help fund the hiring and mental health awarness training of personal trainers to provide 1 on 1 personal training for students with depression or anxiety. Further details also available via their Facebook page.

Jack.org Yoga Summit - $1,000 to provide a one day yoga summit to students at the Isabel Bader Centre. The day will encompass a free yoga class, a mental health workshop and an opportunity for students to connect with representatives from mental health services from the Queen's and Kingston community.

Queen's Health Outreach: Kingston/ Northern Canada Initiatives - $1,500 to send 15 peer educators into classrooms and youth shelters in Kingston every week to speak about mental health topics. These funds were also used to help fund eight peer educators to travel to First Nations Communities in Northern Canada to implement peer education for six weeks. Locations traveled to were Webequie, Ontario; Salluit, Quebec; Pond Inlet, Nunavut; and Fort Providence, Northwest Territories. Further details are also avaliable via their Facebook page and Twitter page.

AMS Social Issues Commission: #Rethink the Drink - $600 to provide event logistics for the #Rethink the Drink Cross-Country Tour stop at Queen's University. This event will engage students in discussions around binge drinking, how it is dangerous, and what students can do to practise safe drinking.

Varsity Leadership Council: Fantastic Friday - $2,000 to purchase 200 green hats to handout to students and athletes at the women's hockey game as apart of Mental Health Awareness Day. These hats will coincide with booths from various mental health organizations from the Queen's and Kingston Communities which will be set up in the Memorial Centre to offer students the opportunity to learn about the services available to them.

Winter 2015-2016 Academic Year

Clinical Psychology Outreach Program: Got Your Back! Campaign - $3,000 to continue to deliver positive messages about mental health and wellbeing and providing students with the necessary skills to effectively check in with their peers, and support their wellbeing. Further details also available via Facebook.

​Hold the Key to Mental Health - $8,006 for all incoming first-year students and orientation leaders to receive a lanyard in the orientation welcome package that will be imprinted with the Jack.org branding, and for orientation leaders to deliver mental health talks to students. Further details also available via Twitter and Instagram.

​Medlife Queen’s for Mental Health - $400 or a 5km run along the waterfront in front of the residences encompassing positive attitudes, physical activity, and good discussion to promote mental health on campus, especially during the stressful exam season. Further details also available via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

​Mental Health Awareness Committee: Amazing Race - $575 to hold a one-day event where participants will be led around campus to engage in conversations about mental health by visiting over 15 mental health and equity groups running their own race stations to advocate and educate about mental health. Further information and details also available via Equitable Queen’sandTwitter.

Mental Health Awareness Committee: Art with Impact - $500 to host an event comprising a resource fair and a workshop on campus to educate students about mental health and its many complexities, as well as reduce stigma surrounding mental health and mental illness through creative art and media programming.

Moves: Queen’s Chapter - $2,000 to provide a one-day workshop series for students to bring together various health-related activities and organizations to create a deeper mindfulness regarding healthy living at Queen’s and to foster a desire in students to strive for healthier minds and bodies. Further details available via email and Instagram.

Queen’s Mully Children’s Family: Paint Night for Queen’s - $600 to host an event whereby participants will be able to relax and express themselves through painting as they are guided in creating a piece of art, recognizing art as one of the growing fields in mental health therapy.

Queen’s Music Theatre: Next to Normal - $4,000 to stage the Next to Normal production, a fairly new Broadway hit that shares a variety of stories of struggles with mental health to allow people to explore their own mental health state through the shared experience of those on stage, and to help end the stigma associated with mental health issues. Further details are available via Twitter.

Queen’s Student Well-Being Circle - $1,500 to respond to student need of addressing invisible disabilities and well-being by introducing alternative forms of therapy for all abilities when confronting invisible barriers such as anxiety, depression, head and neck injuries.

Run With Me - $1,500 for a 5km run/walk around campus in support of mental health awareness and promoting a change in the way people perceive those diagnosed with mental illnesses, focusing on the correlation between exercise and its positive effects on the emotional state of an individual. Further details available on Facebook and Twitter.

Fall 2015-2016 Academic Year

Clinical Psychology Outreach Program/Got Your Back! Campaign - $3,268 to deliver positive messages about mental health and wellbeing and providing students with the necessary skills to effectively check in with their peers, and support their wellbeing.

EngLinks - $240 to provide a training session geared towards the mental health resources at Queen’s, how academics (specifically in engineering) and mental health are correlated, and how to assist someone who potentially needs a resource. Further details available on Facebook.

Jack.org Queen's Chapter - $255 to create patches that students can sew or iron onto their jackets or backpacks that will promote positive conversations about mental health.

Varsity Leadership Council Super Saturday - $2,000 to provide students with information on mental health including the resources available to them in both the Queen’s and Kingston communities, whilst cheering on the varsity volleyball and basketball teams.

Yoga Rave for Jack.org - $1,000 to gather students from all walks of life in a fun setting to learn about mental health and different resources available to them at Queen’s as well as in the Kingston community.

Winter 2014-2015 Academic Year

Unleash the Sunglasses - $11,580.19 for all incoming first-year students to receive a pair of “cool” blue sunglasses in their orientation swag bag, which will have the Jack.org branding on one arm, and web links to school, local and national mental health resources on the other arm. Mental health talks will also be delivered to students by their orientation leaders.

Queen's Mental Health Week/Got Your Back Campaign - $1,416 to promote positive peer support among Queen's students by providing students with the necessary skills to effectively check in with their peers and support their wellbeing. This project will comprise a week of events and an extended multimedia campaign.

Residence Life - Therapy Dogs - $500 to host the St. John's Ambulance Therapy Dogs (and their volunteer handlers) in residence, especially around peak mid-term and exam schedules, which provides therapeutic benefits for stress relief when interacting with the animals. A craft component further provides therapeutic benefits and reduction in stress levels.

Run With Me - $1,000 for a 5km run/walk around campus in support of mental health awareness and promoting a change in the way people perceive those diagnosed with mental illnesses. The event will take place on 26 September, 2015 and will focus on the correlation between exercise and its positive effects on the emotional state of an individual. Further details available on Twitter: @RunWithMeNews and Facebook.

Fall 2014-2015 Academic Year

Super Saturday Mental Health Awareness Day - $1,000 to bring student athletes, the Queen's community and the Kingston community together to spend a day cheering on the varsity volleyball and basketball teams at Queen's.

Winter 2013-2014 Academic Year

Mental Well-Being Sharing Circle - $2,245 to the Queen's Native Students Association to run a new circle at the Four Directions Aboriginal Student Centre, led by an Elder.

Run With Me - $1,000 for a 5km run/walk around campus in October 2014 that included speakers and a resource fair to promote change in the way people perceive those diagnosed with mental illnesses.

safeTALK - $470 to the AMS Peer Support Centre for free delivery of a ‘safeTALK’ certification course, a four-hour training program dedicated to training volunteers on how to identify people with thoughts of suicide, approach them in an appropriate way, and connect them with mental health first aid interventions.

Fall 2013-2014 Academic Year

Canadian Undergraduate Conference on Healthcare - $1,000 towards the 9th annual conference where 300 students from 11 universities will collaborate and gain knowledge about contemporary healthcare issues. Mental health is a major focus and Dr. Mike Condra, Director of Queen's Health, Counselling and Disability Services, delivered a keynote address.

HCDS Heath Promotion Mental Health Team - $200 towards the design and installation of "Mental Health Maps" in multiple high traffic areas around Queen's campus. These large signs provide students with information about essential mental health resources and services.

Varsity Leadership Council - $2,000 for "Super Saturday" mental health awareness day in January 2014. Funds were also used for a team leaders' retreat.